Fanciful Fairytales
by Tyson FoxFlame
Summary: [AU RS] This wasn't a fairytale gala and he wasn't Prince Charmingthis was a high school dance and he was just a silverhaired boy who smelled like the ocean.


You see them at every school dance you ever attend. You know, that one kid who leans against the wall on one side of the gym or sits at a table in the far corner, merely observing. That one kid who always just keeps to himself so that he doesn't bother anybody. That one kid who's too scared to actually **dance **and just plays it off as if he doesn't feel like it.

Uh-huh. I was that one kid.

I shouldn't have let Kairi talk me into this. It was stupid, pointless, and a waste of my time really. I had better things to be doing with my Friday evening other than be dragged to a school dance with my best friend.

Especially when said best friend ditched me halfway through the dance when **Roxas** asked her to dance. There was Selphie of course…but as sociable as she was, she didn't stick around me for long. Tidus and Wakka were busy scamming on upperclassmen, seniors I think. Who did they think they were kidding? They were sophomores; nothing was going to happen. Either way, they were having more fun than I was. But it didn't matter.

After all, I was just Sora Tanaka, that junior who always stood against the wall at school dances that his friends dragged him to. Another glance at my watch told me that it was only 10:45; the dance itself didn't end until about 11 or so. We had been here since 8 and I was just ready to go back to Kairi's, put on some reruns of some cheesy anime and make popcorn, just like we always did.

My eyes drifted to the "dance floor", which was actually just the middle of our gym. I could see Kairi somewhere in the middle with Roxas at her side, both of them moving perfectly with the music. I guess you could say that Roxas was a part of our group of friends. Actually, you could say that he was closer to us than anybody else in the school.

And if you wanted to get technical, you could even say that he's my twin brother.

He was my brother and biggest rival all in one. We sort of had this love-hate relationship going really. Everyday felt like a competition for people's attention. I'd do something fairly well, he'd go an extra step to do it better and vice versa. I finally won though by managing to skip to junior year, while he got to stay a sophomore like we were supposed to be. So to get back at me, he started hitting on my best friend.

All right, so maybe he wasn't doing it intentionally, but still, he was doing it. Hence why I spent the entire night alone leaning against this hard, uncomfortable wall while he decided to charm Kairi.

Bastard.

It wasn't long before I heard the DJ announce that this would be the last song of the evening. There was the usual chorus of objections, but I wasn't one of them. I was just ready to get the hell out of here. The DJ picked the song and the music started playing.

It was a slow dance.

Those were the kind I hated the most. They were the ones that nobody wanted to miss out on and the ones that always pointed out the losers that didn't actually have a date, such as myself. Glancing out of the corner of my eye, I wasn't surprised to see Roxas wrap his arms around Kairi, moving both of them with the song. To my left, Selphie was with somebody else I didn't quite recognize; I think his name is Irvine or something like that. I don't know. Even Tidus and Wakka had managed to con those upperclassmen girls into dancing with them. Like I said, nobody wanted to miss out.

Too bad I was one of the only ones left standing.

I was really considering just heading out to Kairi's car and waiting for them to leave, but I didn't get very far before a hand brushed against my shoulder, startling me. I looked to my right and up a bit, greeted with the sight of beautiful turquoise eyes.

Now before you get too far ahead of yourself, let me stop you right there and tell you that this wasn't a stranger. I knew exactly who he was. He was a senior at our school, ASB president, and my next door neighbor.

His name was Riku Masaki, and I hadn't spoken to him for nearly 8 years. Still, he looked me straight in the face and into my own blue eyes, a small smile playing on his pale lips.

"Hey Sora…"

Oh good, he remembered my name. I wasn't sure whether I should be impressed that he did or offended that it was the first time he's used it for nearly half of my life.

"Masaki." I nodded in acknowledgement.

"You **can** call me Riku, you know…" he responded, giving me a curious look.

"Oh really? I didn't know that you still went by that," I shot back.

"Oh Sora…" he sighed lightly.

"Anyway…what did you want?" I changed the subject, hoping that we didn't have to talk about the fact that we used to be friends before he shot into popularity and left me behind.

"You know…it's the last song," he commented, still watching me closely.

"Yeah…it is."

"You always stand against this same wall, don't you?"

"Maybe. So what?"

"You're going to dance," he suddenly declared, catching me off-guard.

"Excuse me? I'm not-" I didn't even get to finish my sentence before he grabbed my hands, gently tugging me into the middle of the "dance floor". He readjusted our position so that we (okay well he) were more comfortable and started moving us with the music.

"Everyone deserves one dance, don't you think?" he said, suddenly closer to me than he was before.

"Riku…why are you doing this?" I gave him a skeptical glance, trying not to make too much eye contact.

"Because, neither of us had anyone to dance with; besides, nobody likes being left behind, right?" he remarked, still swaying us back and forward gently to the music.

"Why me though?"

"Why not? We're friends, right?"

"Were. Were friends," I corrected him. Who did he think he was kidding? This wasn't a fairytale; this was high school. This wasn't a grand gala in a castle; it was a high school dance in a gym. This wasn't an orchestra; it was Savage Garden. And he wasn't Prince Charming; he was a tall boy with silver hair who smelled like the ocean.

"Sora…" he said quietly, still slowly making us move. It probably wasn't very easy, considering I wasn't moving voluntarily. "You're mad because of the past. I know that, I'm not retarded."

"Then why are you trying to pretend like it doesn't matter?"

"You'll laugh when you hear the truth."

"Probably. Tell me anyway," I prodded. He stopped all movement and we stood in each others arms in the middle of the crowd, Savage Garden's "I Knew I Loved You" playing in the background and the smell of the ocean still filling my nostrils and intoxicating my lungs. He tilted his head down a bit, brushing his lips against my ear as he whispered.

"Because I miss seeing you smile."

He was right; I should have started laughing at him. But for some reason, I didn't. In fact, I kinda just stood there looking at him in shock unsure of what to say. I guess he took my silence as a bad sign because he continued whispering in my ear.

"I still see you a lot. You're still my neighbor you know. I know you still smile for everyone else, but you never smile for me anymore. I'll see you outside of your house; you look the other way. See you in the hall, you ignore me."

"…Riku…" I knew what he was saying was totally sincere; that was the only thing about our bond that hadn't changed. And yet…I couldn't do it. "You can't just walk up to me after so long and expect me to take you back…" I trailed off.

"I didn't think so." He nodded. "But…can I just have this one dance? Or what's left of it?" I nodded in response and let him continue to lead us to the music. The song was nearly over by the time we started dancing again, but we danced anyway. He looked at me again, giving me another curious glance as the music started disappearing.

"Can I ask for something else?" he asked me, his hold loosening a bit.

"Depends. What is it?" I replied, keeping my grip firm. He appeared thoughtful for a moment before tilting his head down again, brushing those pale lips against mine. It was just for a split-second; no open-mouthed, tongue-enticing, hot, sweaty lead-up-to-hot-raunchy-sex kissing, just a simple kiss. He pulled away shortly after he did it and gave me a mock-bow.

"Thanks…for everything," he said to me with a wink and pulled away from me completely, starting to walk away.

It was then that I realized that maybe things like this didn't have to be in a fairytale. That maybe things like this weren't taboo or limited. That maybe things like this could happen to anyone; even that junior boy who always stood against the wall at school dance.

"….hey Riku!" I called after him, still rooted to my spot. He hadn't gotten very far and he turned around, looking at me expectantly.

"What?"

And I smiled. Just for him.

* * *

Okay so Sora-muse decided he wanted fluff soooo here it is. Heh. It IS only a one-shot though, hope you enjoyed it.

And to everybody who reads my stuff; yes I'm working on Best Friend and Basketcase and Lemons. Bear with me.


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